I decided to watch this drama when I knew Bai Yu is one of the male leads ,, because I love his acting ,, he's one of the best chinese melodramatic actors ever ,, watched most of his dramas and was blown a way by his performance in them
But
After first few episodes I felt lost and a bit bored ,, thank god for that cheerful person who comes at the end of every episode explaining what has happened in each episode using simple talk to simple minded people like me LOL
I was thinking of dropping it .. didn't feel there is an actual interesting connection I connect with but I kept skimming through the episodes as they came out and realized that this drama is hidden gem but not for every one ,, it's heavy and complicated sometimes ,, confusing a lot with all similar styling of a lot of characters but the two leads were obvious and distinctive at least to me ,, there were Bromance blooming between them and felt strong brotherly connection despite the troubles they were both facing
the plotting and was interwind and very complicated to follow but I was focused on the two leads that made it easier to understand
It started to get interesting after episode seven ,, things started happening quickly and there were challenges facing the two leads separately ,, the romance was very little but it was there and even that wasn't light ,,it was romance mixed with spy fare , secrecy and sadness
the two leads came together again as best friends and as brothers but in somewhat at odds ,, their friendship was tested in a huge way at the last ten episodes and it was amazing ride to be honest ,, watching how their bond couldn't be broken
if it weren't for their Bromance and the twists here and there this drama would have been a boring historical drama
I loved it and I loved how they were challenged and how the plot is so intriguing especially from the middle to the end
I emphasize on Bromance because it touched my heart ,, their bond and their brotherly love for each other was the best thing that kept me on the edge of my seat to the end
it's definitely a Bromance drama as it's true history tale
I recommend this drama to people who likes heavy political plots with no fighting or wuxia magic ,, just heavy historical plot mixed with good strong Brotherhood